This invention relates in general to regulator devices for controlling the flow of liquid and more particularly to an adjustable regulator for controlling the supply of water to a suction device.
My prior application Ser. No. 390,226 discloses a device for controllably supplying a liquid to a porous medium to maintain a given degree of humidification therein, which device includes a regulator which is operable to establish a pressure differential opposing that established by a capillary means which infuses liquid into the medium. Such regulator is so designed that its opposing pressure differential counterbalances the suction pressure differential created by the capillary means at the degree of humidification to be maintained, thereby cutting off the further flow of liquid to the medium as would tend to raise the humidity thereof. Upon drying of the medium, the capillary means creates a greater suction pressure which causes a resumption of liquid flow through the regulator until the increased humidity produced again results in a counterbalance condition of the regulator and flow stoppage.
The opposing pressure differential created by the regulator described in the aforesaid prior application was generally fixed by the elevation difference between the inlet of one conduit and the outlet of another conduit, and the effective gas column heights of one or more gas spaces above liquid levels in the regulator housing. With such regulator structure the pressure differential setting could not easily be changed to a selected one of a plurality of preset values.
Because the primary application of this invention is the automatic watering of plants, it is important to provide a regulator suitable for controlling the humidity of soil used for different types of plants. Certain plants, for example, like cacti, need only a slight watering and their soil need be maintained at a relatively low humidity, whereas other plants, like swamp plants, can grow only in very moist soil. It, therefore, is advantageous to provide a regulator apparatus in which the pressure differential setting can be easily changed to values corresponding to new soil humidification levels.
The invention provides a regulator device in which the degree of suction pressure required to draw liquid, such as water, from a chamber can be selectively regulated.
According to the invention, this problem will be solved in that in the regulation apparatus of the type described in the application, several different long supply conduits and, respectively, or several flow conduits all having the same volume, but predetermined by assorted highly-placed mouths in a closed chamber, are selectively adjustable and effective.
The subject matter of this invention can be realized in several ways. It can, for example, be practical to place two or more chambers next to each other, of which the first few flow conduits with the highly-placed assorted mouths are comprised, while the second chamber is comprised of an air route like that described in the application, whereby the supply conduit of the first chamber is suitable for use as the flow conduit of the second chamber. There could also be two or more chambers arranged next to each other in the shaft, each of which is provided with several flow conduits.
There are different principles of arrangement also for the storing of the flow conduits of the outwardly-closed air route in the shaft of the apparatus. It is advantageous, for reasons of saving space, to arrange the flow conduits inside each other.
A somewhat larger space requirement presents itself with simple manner of mounting if the flow conduits are arranged next to each other with parallel axes.
In order to effect the adjustment, it is preferable to provide a closure member that insures that the desired flow conduits are always open or in operation, while the others are either closed or inoperative.
The openings of the adjustable closure mechanism are advantageously fitted to each other so that at least one of the openings stays open in each place, in order to prevent the liquid flow from becoming completely cut off due to faulty operation.
The closure or gate mechanism can contain two directly opposable rotatable parts in a preferred embodiment which is provided by the required throughway openings for the water. The embodiment can also be effected so that the closure mechanism contains two directly opposable shiftable parts in axial directions that are provided by the desired throughway openings. In order to prevent the flow of water from being totally shut off, it is possible even in the simplest case to keep the flow conduit with the highest-placed mouth constantly open. Finally, let one or several flow conduits, or, respectively, the supply conduits form themselves into the wall of the shaft, so that they form together one plastic unitary structure, whereby the conduits are connected by side openings to the room involved.
The adjusting apparatus has the advantage that it can be adjusted to the desired degree of moisture of the plant pot soil or the ground in very simple manner, whereby, however, the operation of the apparatus, especially the filling of the apparatus with water, exactly as in the apparatus described in my prior application Ser. No. 390,226, can be carried out independently of the adjustment, so that the volume of the different gradated flow conduits are identical to each other.
In general, the invention provides a regulator device for controllably supplying a liquid to a suction means, which comprises an enclosed chamber, an outflow conduit extending into said chamber to deliver liquid therefrom to said suction means, a plurality of inflow conduits extending within said chamber, and adjustable gate means operable to selectively block and unblock at least one of said inflow conduits to direct liquid outside the chamber to flow into the chamber through a corresponding inflow conduit, said outflow conduit having an inlet below a liquid level location in said chamber, each of said inflow conduits having an outlet at a different height above said liquid level location in said chamber the outlet height of each inflow conduit corresponding to the magnitude of the suction pressure required to draw liquid from the chamber through the outflow conduit when liquid flows into the chamber through that inflow conduit.
For a better understanding of the invention, reference should be had to the following detailed description and accompanying drawings which exemplified certain preferred embodiments of the invention.